The Legend of the Star Senshi
by zemalia
Summary: A mysterious new enemy is approaching along with a batch of new senshi. But who's side are they on? Plus, Hotaru is holding a deep secret back that may change the way the senshi have known life for good.
1. Chapter One The Arrival

Off in the faraway depths of time Super Sailorpluto paced by the gates. Her rusty keys jingled on her hips with each step she tool, her heeled boots clanking against the marble floor. With each glimpse of light, her orb that was crowned on the key staff glimmered slightly, yet still deceived many by appearing powerless. She stopped in her pacing, suddenly alarmed by the ring of an ancient bell.  
  
Father Chronos~, Pluto thought, ~great guardian of time. Show me that who wishes to pass through your gates. ~  
  
The orb glowed a bright crimson and as she closed her eyes for vision, her senses heightened. A dark presence alerted her mind. Alarmed yet again, she permanently sealed the gates of time until she returned from her visit to Earth.  
  
* * *  
  
Atop a tall building by the ocean Super SailorNeptune and Uranus gazed upon the night sky. A gust of wind passed by and the two remained still as their hair was caught up in the movement of the breeze.  
  
"I do miss the others," Neptune said softly, "but it's nice to see the brilliance of the ocean again."  
  
Uranus merely nodded her reply. "I wonder how Hotaru is faring on her own."  
  
Neptune smiled. "I'm sure -". She stopped mid-sentence.  
  
Both looked out towards the ocean, which was completely still; not a single wave was upon it. The wind had also stopped, leaving an eerie silence around the building. The two senshi gave each other a purposeful glance and the next moment, the roof was completely deserted.  
  
* * *  
  
A small girl sat by a window as lightning flashed by. Her room was completely dark save for the corners crammed with different kinds of lamps and nearby stacks of old books. Thunder sounded throughout the room, but all the girl did was blink. From under her black dress, she pulled out a small stick with a purple orb crowned on top surrounded by semi-transparent rings that seemed to be moving all on their own. Her mouth moved, but her small voice was silenced by the violent thunder. Lightning flashed again and a tall female stood where once the girl was, a glimmer of metal appeared off to her right. Super Sailorsaturn sighed heavily and looked away from the window.  
  
~I must warn the others, ~ she thought. ~Death is upon us. ~  
  
"Usagi!" yelled Hino Rei, "hurry up! Do you want to be late for your first day back?"  
  
At Rei's last word, Usagi came running out her front door with her briefcase in hand and a piece of toast in her mouth. She murmured a quick good morning to the group, although it sounded completely muffled with her face stuffed with food. The girls replied as was their morning routine, and they were off once more to school.  
  
"Ne, Rei-chan, where's Ami-chan?" Usagi asked with a confused look as she looked around for her old friend.  
  
"She headed off after waiting for ten minutes at your house; she mentioned that she had something important to do," responded Rei.  
  
Usagi merely nodded and skipped ahead to catch up with Minako to chat about their courses this year. Makoto popped up beside Rei and chatted with her until she had to leave for her own school, which was on a different route, and left Makoto to her own thoughts.  
  
~Everything seems so much different now. It's been about a year since any of us have had the need to transform. I guess defeating chaos was the last battle. ~ She glanced back at Usagi. ~She's tried so hard and has suffered more than any of us. She deserves this peace. ~  
  
A few minutes later, they arrived at the school and headed towards their homeroom class. Ami was waiting there for them, reading one of her favourite books. She waved them over as she took her glasses off and smiled.  
  
"Ohayou gozaimasu Usagi-chan. I'm glad to see you made it on time. A good start to the new semester, ne?" Ami greeted the other as well and she mentioned that she had wanted to get here early to save everyone their seats from the semester before.  
  
The small group talked amongst themselves until the bell rang and the door slid open to reveal their teacher.  
  
"Ohayou gozaimasu minna-san," said the teacher. "I hope you all enjoyed your holidays." There was a murmur of conversation, but a strict look from the teacher quickly silenced it. "Now, before we start today's review, I would like to introduce to you all a new student from Canada. Please make her feel welcome."  
  
"Hai," replied the class almost instantaneously.  
  
The door opened and a tall girl stepped through. She had strawberry blonde hair past her shoulders and very dark brown eyes. She appeared very pale, especially in her dark blue school fuku. She bowed down in respect and quickly came up again.  
  
"My name is Ailya. I thank you for allowing me into your class."  
  
Most of the students were astonished that she could speak fluent Japanese almost entirely without flaw and very little presence of an accent so it was no surprise to see a few of them with their mouths gaped open.  
  
"Well, let's see," said the teacher as she looked around the class for an empty desk. "Why don't you sit beside Kino-san?"  
  
The transfer student nodded politely and walked over to her seat at a constant pace, yet odd pace, as if it was intentional. As she passed Usagi, who was sitting directly in front of Makoto, her eyes met Usagi's. Time seemed to freeze as she looked at her, dark brown eyes piercing her own soft, blue ones. The world around Usagi had gone black and there was only the two of them standing there. She could hear her heart beating, faster and faster, as if they were something to be anticipating. The girl's lips were moving, but she could hear nothing.  
  
A calm touch on the shoulder from Ami awoke her from the 'dream' as she decided to call it. Usagi wrote down some brief notes as the teacher continued to write on the board, but remained in a daze for the remainder of the class. By the time the bell had rung, all of her friends were giving her a concerned look as they headed out to the field for lunch.  
  
"Usagi, you seem down. Is something wrong?" asked Minako.  
  
She sat and pondered the thought. Had she imagined that encounter with the new girl? Usagi had sure thought so. She seemed to be the only one in the group who had noticed that Ailya had been staring at her when she first sat down.  
  
"Um. No, not really," she replied. Then Usagi decided it was time to figure out if she had just been daydreaming again. "Ne, Mako-chan, did you notice something weird about the new girl, Ailya?"  
  
Makoto looked up in thought. "No, she seems pretty cool to me. Speaking of Ailya," she said while looking over in another direction, "she looks pretty lonely. Why don't we ask her to join us for lunch?"  
  
Everyone agreed and Makoto went over to where Ailya was sitting and brought her over. She seemed to be very quiet while she ate her lunch and remained out of the majority of the conversations. Whenever she was asked a question, she would answer quickly and return to listening.  
  
Then out of nowhere she got up.  
  
"I'm sorry everyone, I've got to go to the bathroom. Thank you for letting me eat with you though, I appreciate it." She bowed quickly and headed off to the school.  
  
"Well, that was interesting," said Ami. "She seemed to be quite untalkative, I wonder why."  
  
Makoto spoke up. "Well, you have to remember Ami-chan, that she is new to the school. She's probably just a little shy. After a few weeks she'll be just like the rest of us. Remember, I was the new girl once."  
  
"Ya, but you weren't from Canada. At least it was still in the same country."  
  
"Wow Mina-chan, that must be the first intelligent thing you've said in a while," sneered Makoto jokingly. They all had a good laugh at that, but a loud smashing sound coming from the school soon interrupted it.  
  
The girls ran from their eating spot under the sakura blossom trees to where they had heard the screaming. The wind whipped through their hair as they ran at a speed most people could not even imagine. The rush of the need to help was all too familiar to the group of four.  
  
But, suddenly, they stopped. The screaming had stopped long ago, but they could still sense they need of help, until just a moment ago. There was a new presence in its place, one that was familiar, yet unknown to them all. The wind stopped as they listened silently. Then the presence was gone, as quickly as it had appeared. They ran to where the scream had come from to find Naru crouching by a bush and shivering with fear.  
  
"Usagi!" she said. Her face brightened up at the face of her friend. "I'm so glad you're here. It was horrible, absolutely horrible." She got to her feet and hugged Usagi tightly.  
  
"What did you see, Naru-chan?" asked Usagi calmly.  
  
"I don't really remember," she recalled. "It was like a large block of darkness and then a light shot out of somewhere and it was gone. I think it came from there though." Naru pointed over to her right, near the school.  
  
"Here Naru-san, why don't we go to the infirmary to make sure you're alright?" suggested Ami. She nodded and followed along.  
  
Usagi and Makoto were bringing up the rear when Usagi spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She waved Makoto over so she could see too. When they reached what had caught Usagi's attention, they both gasped. There was a pattern on the pavement of a star under another with a circle around the two in black ash. They glanced at each other and decided to catch up with the rest of the group later.  
  
"What do you think this is?" asked Usagi to Makoto. She had a very worried and concerned look on her face as she posed the question.  
  
Makoto sighed heavily. "I don't know. Maybe we can get Ami-chan to analyze some of this stuff," she pointed to the ash, "it might give us some clues." She dug through her pockets and found a plastic bag. "We'll put some of it in here, okay?"  
  
Usagi nodded and gathered up some of the black ash into the small bad and handed it back to Makoto. Then rose from her crouched position and stood straight as she heard footsteps approach.  
  
"Is something wrong?" inquired a slightly familiar voice. Ailya emerged from behind a corner, but her face was impossible to read; it seemed to be completely devoid of any emotion whatsoever.  
  
"Oh, no," recovered Makoto, "someone just fell down. We're just making sure she didn't drop anything." She moved over from her previous position so she was placed directly in front of the ash, where it couldn't be seen by anyone on the opposite side. "Ne, Usagi-chan?"  
  
Usagi quickly caught on. "Oh, yeah, right."  
  
Ailya nodded as acknowledgement. "I shall see you in class then, Kino-san, Tsukino-san." She bowed slightly and was off for the school.  
  
As soon as she was out of hearing distance, Usagi spoke up. "Why did you lie to her?" she asked. "It's not like she's a threat or anything."  
  
"I know that very well Usagi-chan, but we should keep this to ourselves and the others; no need to worry the public about something unconfirmed." She saw Usagi's sad face as she said those words. ~ Here we go again; trouble is on the rise. ~ "Come on, we should get back to class, we don't want to be late, ne?"  
  
The two friends headed off to their classroom for their last half of their first school day. They sat in their seats and remained quiet as the waited for the end of the day to approach. Once it did, they left the classroom in an orderly manner and met up with Minako, Ami, and later on, Rei. After discussing what should be done, the group decided that is was best to keep a look out of anything suspicious and to carry their henshin sticks around with them at all times, just to be careful.  
  
"We'll meet at Rei-chan's house at seven then. That should give me enough time to analyze this sample. Ja ne." Ami waved as she head off.  
  
The others soon followed in their own directions, to their own houses. But, a dark shadow followed close behind Usagi, who was unaware and without her henshin broche.  
  
Usagi continued walking down the street in a frolicking manner as she hummed a familiar tune. Her hair was swishing in the wind as she walked, almost touching the ground as if to be sweeping it. Her mood seemed much more relaxed than earlier that day, apparently talking with her good friends had cheered her up. Yet, there was still something lingering in the back of her mind about the attack earlier today.  
  
She slowed down as thoughts resurfaced and assumed a serious state as she continued walking. She looked up towards the sky, now almost completely dark from the setting of the sun, and gazed at the dim stars.  
  
~ They seem so far, yet so close all at the same time, ~ she thought.  
  
Usagi turned a corner to enter a park, but something wasn't right. Whenever she had walked home, this park was full of people playing with each other, or couples just sitting on a bench by the fountain. Yet, there were no people here now, and the wind had stopped eerily as she had turned the corner. Usagi now stopped and took in the silence. She had closed her eyes, and concentrated on any irregular force she could find.  
  
But, it was too late for the next moment she was on the ground and covered in dirt from the pathway. Usagi quickly looked around to see who, or what, had pushed her down, but there was no one to be seen. Just as she tried to get up, a cold, vibrant wind blew past her and sent shivers down her spine. Then, a voice of cold and utter darkness spoke.  
  
"'Tis no nightmare that thee sees before thine eyes," it spoke as a dark entity arose from the ground, "'Tis as real as you are, Child of the Light."  
  
((Authors Note - words in italicises are meant to be said in English dialogue.))  
  
Usagi scrambled backwards, confused with the curious foreign words, as she restlessly looked through her pockets for her henshin broche. Yet, she remembered that she had left it in a jewellery box since long after the battle with Chaos, as well as her communicator, so there was no chance for help from the other senshi. She was all on her own. Her thoughts were shrouded by darkness. She was all alone, there was no one to help her. After all of her battles, after all of her victories, none of them really mattered anymore – she was going to die, right now, right here.  
  
Just at that instant, she heard a distant voice that seemed to pull her out of her desperate situation. It had the confidence she was lacking and a bravery that very few could put to the test. She felt safe at last.  
  
"Stop!" yelled the voice.  
  
There was a murmur of words that Usagi had missed, but right after there was a brilliant flash of light that seemed to flow over her body and she was now back in the park, no longer in the depths of her mind. Usagi tried to get to her feet, but she remained on the ground, frozen by fear that the creature might still be around and lurking for her. Yet, she was still thinking about the bright light and the voice. Who, or what, was that? Little did she know that her question was soon to be answered.  
  
Usagi caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye and turned to see what was going on. Before, there had been no movement in the park save for herself and the creature of darkness from before. Yet, there was a person here now. She was tall, much taller than herself and had a brilliant shade of strawberry blonde hair that reached down past her shoulders. She had odango, which confused Usagi considerably, not to mention the fact that she was wearing a fuku. It had a white base, much like hers, but the skirt was yellow with orange and red stripes trimming the bottom of it. Her boots were orange and reached up to her knees and there was a long bunch of ribbons hanging all about. But what Usagi noticed most was the staff that this girl seemed to be carrying at her side. It seemed to be all the colours she wore, yet none of them, all at the same time. And fixed about the top surrounded by the same strange material of the staff was a double star.  
  
"Why don't you come back and face me," she said coolly at what appeared to be thin air to Usagi. But, then a dark body seemed to appear before the unknown girl, much like it had done to Usagi.  
  
Yet, the events were not similar to those of Usagi. The girl had muttered some words and had performed some unfamiliar actions with her staff to bring forth a ball of white light that surged towards the dark being, which disappeared and turned to dust at the moment of contact.  
  
~ Who is this girl? ~ Usagi asked herself. ~ Is she one of us, a senshi? Is it actually possible that there are more of us in Tokyo? But how could it be that we have never seen her before? ~  
  
The senshi, as Usagi perceived her to be, was now walking towards her. Now that she was much closer, Usagi almost shivered at the coldness of her deep brown eyes. Her tiara was similar in shape to her own, but it contained an orange gem with many strange mists lurking within it. Usagi was surprised when she offered her gloved hand to her to help her to her feet.  
  
"Thank you," Usagi stammered as she rose back to a standing position.  
  
The expression on the senshi remained unreadable. "Do not bother thanking me, for it shall be the last time I help you." She turned away and began to walk off.  
  
"Wait!" cried Usagi, "What's your name, who are you?"  
  
The senshi stopped mid-step. "My name is SailorStarGazer." She paused. "And you already know who I am, Child of the Light." The next instant, she was gone, and Usagi was left there to ponder her findings. 


	2. Chapter Two Curious Findings

Usagi had been left to ponder her findings. She was once again alone in the park, night now creeping up on her in the east. The wind was present again as well and blew through her hair gently. The words that had been spoken just seconds before had caught her by surprise. She knew very well that they weren't Japanese, or any language that she knew of. Usagi immediately decided to contact Ami; she might know what had been spoken to her. She knew for a fact that she had heard those exact words from the monster of darkness from earlier. Then she remembered that she had to get home. There was importance business at foot that needed attending to. Usagi left the park and began to run for her home.  
  
* * *  
  
Up in the trees near the park that Usagi had just departed stood Super SailorNeptune and Uranus. They both seemed troubled by the events that had recently passed.  
  
"We were too late to help the princess," said Neptune.  
  
Uranus merely sighed, but then decided to reply. "I know. But there is still the fact that someone else helped her, a someone who appears to be a senshi. And the fact still remains that I couldn't sense her coming or the coming of that monster that she defeated."  
  
"It's not your fault," Neptune said gently, "I couldn't either and I doubt that any of the other senshi could. There is something strange about that girl. And why hasn't she shown her face before?"  
  
"I don't know the answer to that question either," answered Uranus. She changed the subject. "Perhaps we should head back to Hotaru and Setsuna, they are probably waiting to find out what happened."  
  
"I agree, we can solve this mystery later."  
  
The two jumped down from the tree and were suddenly gone.  
  
* * *  
  
The inner senshi were now gathered at Rei's temple. Only Rei knew why they had come to gather, and why Usagi seemed unlike herself. Ami, Makoto, and Minako were all wearing worried looks on their faces, still not knowing the disaster of events that had only just occurred. Luna and Artemis were there as well, pacing the floors of the temple room.  
  
"Well," said Rei hesitatingly, "why don't you tell us all why we are here, Usagi-chan?"  
  
The others nodded in response.  
  
Usagi nodded as well and began to tell her story. At certain points Minako would shout out in worry for her friend, and at other points Makoto would gasp at the capability of the new senshi that had been discovered. All the while though, Ami and Rei remained silent, both deep in thought.  
  
Once she had finished, which was about half of an hour later, Ami finally spoke. "You mentioned that both the monster and the new senshi, SailorStarGazer, said some strange phrase in a foreign language, right?" she asked. Usagi nodded in reply, a look of curiosity on her innocent face. "Do you think you could try to repeat those words to us?"  
  
Usagi had hoped that Ami would ask this question, and was most delighted to fulfill her request, although her pronunciation would be quite different. "Sure Ami-chan, I'll try my best. It was something like Childu off te lighto.... I can't remember the exact pronunciation."  
  
Ami sighed. "Well, the phrase sounds English to me. The closest Japanese translation is Child of Light. In the meantime, I think its best that we all head home for the night."  
  
The group nodded their reply. Then, Minako spoke up. "Usagi-chan, I'll walk home with you just in case something happens again. I've got my henshin broach with me, Artemis brought it along to the meeting." She smiled hopefully at Usagi.  
  
"Then it's settled," said Makoto while raising out of her spot, "we go home and get a good nights rest, not to mention finish all of that homework that our sensei gave us. I'll see you all later then, ja!" She left waving and soon the only person that remained was Rei, eager to do some fire readings.  
  
~ The power of Mars will have to aid me once again, the peace is now gone. But what remains to be seen is if this new senshi is a friend or a foe. ~  
  
Rei head off from their meeting place as soon as the others had left her sight. Making sure that there was no work to be done around the temple, she eventually ended up in the fire room. The windows had been shut close as to prevent any wind from disturbing the fir, however the fire still danced mystically in the air. Making quick movements with her hands, Rei began chanting.  
  
She full of concentration, determined to find some insight on the earlier events of the day. A bright burst from the fire caused her to open her eyes when she was in mid chant though. A picture of a senshi with a tall staff stood before her in the flames, but the image quickly changed to one of darkness. Dark flowing robes were everywhere and Rei could sense a dark and ominous presence. Just as the curtains lifted away however, some unknown force pushed her back from her seating place, which caused to pant heavily, gasping for air.  
  
Responding to their master's pain, Phoebus and Demos appeared through the doorway and sat beside her in worry. "I'm fine," she said quietly, still breathing heavily, "for now anyways."  
  
* * *  
  
On the way home Makoto had remember the black ash that her and Usagi had picked up earlier. She turned around despite the fact that she was almost home and headed in the direction of Ami's house. Unlike Minako though, she hadn't brought her henshin stick with her. Thus she though it would be best if she didn't take the short cut through the park; the city streets would be much safer, even at night.  
  
Night had already begun to take its toll on the city of Tokyo; the tower was already brightly lit up and the stars were twinkling above. Makoto looked above at the sky, no caring to pay attention to the sidewalk and where she was going. She often enjoyed just staring up at the night sky and taking in all of its wonders.  
  
Once she reached a corner street though, the crossing single turned red. Instinctively Makoto stopped and looked at her watch. However, her and many other people on the streets of Tokyo were distracted seconds later as a bright flash skimmed the sky. ~Wow, a shooting star...~ thought Makoto. It had been such a long time since she had seen one.  
  
As the crossing light turned green Makoto snapped out of her daze and began walking across the street. While she was walking though, a girl with short brown hair tied back in a ponytail waved to her. At first, Makoto didn't recognize her, but with a second glance she realized it was Sakai Hoshii from the teashop by her house.  
  
"Konnichiwa Hoshii-san," Makoto said cheerily through the crowd, waving back.  
  
"Kon ba wa Kino-san," Sakai replied quietly. She smiled politely as the two of them passed.  
  
Makoto was left to her thoughts for the remainder of her walk to Ami's house. She had always had an odd feeling about Sakai Hoshii, although she knew her to be very kind and polite. There was just something about her that Makoto couldn't put her finder on. The best explanation that she had ever come up with was that perhaps the two of them had some sort of special connection.  
  
Ignoring the all too common feeling Makoto pressed the button for Ami's apartment.  
  
"Hello?" came a voice from the intercom system.  
  
"Oy, Ami-chan, its me Makoto. I forgot to tell you about something at the meeting earlier."  
  
"Oh, Mako-chan! Okay, I'll open the door for you." Makoto heard a clicking noise, indicating that the door had been opened.  
  
After climbing a few flights of stairs, she arrived at Ami's door where she found her friend to be waiting patiently. They greeted each other and went inside rather quickly.  
  
"So, what is it that you forgot?"  
  
"Well, do you remember the incident at the school earlier today?" Ami nodded in response. "Well, after you and Mina-chan went with Naru-san to the infirmary Usagi and I noticed an odd pile of black ash. I had a plastic bag on me so I thought it might be a good idea to take a sample. I thought that perhaps you could analyze it."  
  
Ami smiled cheerfully. "Sure, that shouldn't take more than a few minutes. In the meantime, I'll put on a some water to make some tea."  
  
Leaving Makoto to her thoughts, Ami started towards the kitchen to boil the water. Afterwards, she went to her bedroom to pick up her mini-computer for the compound analysis for Makoto.  
  
"Here," Makoto said as she entered the living room again, handing Ami the small sample of black ash that she had.  
  
"Hmm..." Ami inserted a small sample into her computer and then pressed a few buttons to indicate what needed to be done. Afterwards, she looked back up at Makoto. "Well, that will take a few minutes. Did you notice anything else odd?"  
  
Makoto tilted her head slightly, thinking. "Actually, now that you mention it, I did. The ash wasn't in an ordinary pile or anything; it was in some sort of formation. It looked purposeful as if it was supposed to be that way." She waved her hands in the air trying to shake off her embarrassment. "That must have sounded really weird. Sorry."  
  
"Not at all. I've heard some pretty crazy things in the past few years." A high-pitched beeping noise indicated that the test was complete. At the same time however, the whistle from the teakettle in the kitchen sounded off.  
  
"I'll make the tea, don't worry about it. Just concentrate on finding out what that stuff is." Makoto smiled and rushed off hurriedly to the kitchen to turn off the stove and make the tea.  
  
Ami turned back to the miniature computer screen to take a look at the results. As she scanned through the list of molecules and elements that the ash was composed of, she came across something very confusing. The usual elements of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen were there, but so was something else. There was another element unlike something she had ever seen before. It had a huge atomic mass and bonded at least eight times with a hydrogen atom to create an odd shaped molecule.  
  
As Makoto walked back in with two cups of tea in her hands she looked over and peered at Ami's findings. "Is something wrong?" she asked politely, handing her friend the mug from her left hand.  
  
"Not exactly, but yes."  
  
Makoto's face was full of confusion. "How does that work?"  
  
"The ash appears to contain an element and a molecule that I've never seen before, and I've taken advanced chemistry. I've compared it with all of the other data that my mini computer holds, but nothing matches. It's a completely new element."  
  
* * *  
  
Setsuna had been waiting patiently for the return of her comrades. It had been almost three hours since they had departed, sensing something strange in the air. Being concerned about their princess, Uranus and Neptune left in quite a hurry.  
  
Hotaru on the other hand was a different matter. It seemed she had rapidly grown again, like the last time that she was needed in a battle. Not only did this worry Setsuna greatly, but also it made her ponder on what was to come. Hotaru wandered through the house during the day, but had started confining herself to her room at night. The strange behaviour was bothering not only Setsuna, but Haruka and Michiru as well.  
  
The quiet sound of a door opening alerted Setsuna to her feet. Haruka and Michiru had returned. Walking through the hallways, she could already sense the questions forming in her mind.  
  
"Is the princess alright?" she asked hurriedly, not bothering to greet her companions.  
  
Michiru nodded, but Haruka answered. "It seems we were too late to be of any help though."  
  
Setsuna thought on the comment for a moment. "We have a lot to discuss then, don't we?"  
  
"Yes. Hotaru should probably listen as well. It might trigger a vision or memory." Michiru stepped away from the door and headed towards Hotaru's room to fetch her for the meeting. She knocked on the door and opened the door slightly. The room was dark, only a single lamp was lit. "Hotaru- chan, we've just returned. There's some information that I would like you to hear. Please come with me."  
  
The woman turned from her window to face Michiru. "I will be right there."  
  
As Michiru closed the door behind her she thought to herself how much Hotaru had changed in the last few days. ~She's almost as old as the princess and her senshi. And the cheerful face that used to be there every moment is now gone. She looks so lost in her thoughts...~  
  
When she arrived in the living room, Haruka was already stretched across the love seat, obviously saving a spot for her. Setsuna was on the couch, a serious look on her face. ~Everyone is so intense; there is definitely something happening beyond what we can see. ~ Michiru took her seat and they all waited for Hotaru to make her appearance.  
  
After a few minutes of waiting, her dark figured appeared through the archway.  
  
"Well, I guess we should start at the beginning." Haruka began with her recall of the events earlier that evening. All the while, Setsuna was deep in thought and Hotaru remained standing, looking barely aware that someone was talking.  
  
Haruka took in a deep breath; after talking for almost fifteen minutes straight, she needed some air. Michiru took over for her. "The only thing we know about this new senshi is her name –"  
  
Hotaru cut off Michiru. "SailorStarGazer."  
  
For the first time during the conversation, Hotaru had decided to contribute. But Haruka or Michiru had mentioned nothing of the senshi's name to Setsuna and Hotaru during their conversation. All three of them looked over to her. "How do you know that?" Haruka asked forcefully, almost demanding an answer out of her.  
  
Thankfully, Michiru calmed her down and told her to take a seat. Meanwhile, Hotaru replied, still staring off into nothing. "She is the senshi of all senshi, of light..." Hotaru seemed to come out of her daze once she had said that. "Sorry, did I miss something?" she asked innocently.  
  
Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka all looked at each other with worried faces.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Sorry that this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but I really wanted to get it done. And I also apologize for the lack of action and explanation. But trust me, this chapter has its purposes. Hopefully the next one will clarify some questions. Please review! 


	3. Chapter Three The Organization of Dispa...

The dark flowing curtains that surrounded their world were barely enough to prevent the argument between two women angry when they both had a fiery temper. It had been approximately three hours since the last attempt and one of the women was becoming very impatient.

"I thought I told you to make it quick, now look what you got us into! The mistress will not only have your head for this, but mine as well!" The one with dark green hair flowing past her shoulders shouted loudly at the woman, who appeared more like a teenager, with pink hair tied back in a ponytail.

The pink haired girl crossed her arms and gave her companion a dirty look. "I don't take orders from you, you know. I only take them from the mistress."

"Is that so? Well, it happens to be that my orders came from her you numbskull! And you could of at least have tried to put some effort into your mission. I think all of these free minds and souls has softened you a bit, Insecurity." A sly look appeared on the woman's face.

"Show's what you know Jealously," replied Insecurity. "That demon was one of my middle class servants. He actually could do things, unlike a certain someone's servants... but I wouldn't know who..."

Anger and hate covered Jealously's face. "Oh really? Well-"

"That's enough you two!" A man who appeared to be about the age of twenty-five with dark blue hair revealed himself from behind the dark curtains. "You can hear you're babbling all the way over in the Atarin system!" Just by the look on his face it was obvious that he was extremely disgruntled.

"Who asked you, Guilt?" snapped Jealously, looking away from Insecurity for the first time in their argument. She absolutely despised being interrupted in mid-sentence.

Guilt showed little sign of being hurt by the sharpness of the woman's voice; over the centuries he'd gotten used to it, like the rest of crew. "No one asked me, but I hear the mistress isn't pleased with the noise either. So if I were you two, I'd shut the hell up and get working on a new plan. You're wasting valuable time which could be used to devise another plot." Turning specifically to Insecurity he added, "Speaking of plans though... Insecurity, the mistress would like to have a word with you."

A lump the size of a grapefruit felt like it was trying to make its way down her throat. The last time Insecurity had been sent to the mistress was a few hundred years ago when invading a small planet in the Shinkari system, and the only reason that was for was because the mistress thought the planet might be to her liking. "R-right now?" she stammered.

"No, after lunch," he answered sarcastically. "Of course right now! And if you know what's good for you, you best head over now Insecurity, before her mood becomes foul again."

"Of course." Insecurity collected herself and disappeared with a step backwards. A wave of the deep violet curtains covered her leave.

Crossing her legs, Jealously sat mid-air as if she was sitting in an ordinary love seat. The room was silent for some time; neither Guilt nor Jealously spoke or glanced at each other. Figuring that he would have to eventually end the awkward silence, Guilt left the room with a wave of his hand, which passed over the dark curtains and disguised his leave. "Serves her right." Now that Guilt was gone, she was free to voice her thoughts, and so she did.

"I mean, who the hell does she think she is? 'I only take orders from the mistress'..." she added mockingly. "Humph, I hope she doesn't come back, then I wouldn't have to even think about dealing with her."

"Your completely right you know," a male voice said.

Thinking that perhaps one of her servants had come to put her in a better mood, she nodded in agreement. "Well, at least someone agrees with me around here. Now, fetch me something to eat will you?" Jealously waved her hand in as if handing out orders.

A tall man with jet-black hair and red highlights emerged from the curtains. His face was hard, but handsome, however, once Jealously noticed him, she immediately dropped to her knees, head on the floor in a deep bow. "I am not one of your servants Jealously."

"Forgive me, sir... I did not know it was you..." she continued stammering, all confidence in her voice that was there mere seconds before had disappeared as if it had evaporated into the air. She kept her eyes low to the floor, however she was tempted to chance a look at his face.

"Stop your grovelling, it's disgusting."

"Yes, of course sir," she replied quickly, rising quickly to her feet, but still averting her eyes from his.

A sigh came from the man. "And stop calling me that, I have a name you know."

"Of course, Pain."

Pain smiled, but it looked more mischievous than anything pleasant. "In the mean time, perhaps it would be wise if you concentrate your efforts on the war at hand, rather than your petty arguments with Insecurity." Keeping the playful smile on his face, he turned from the quivering girl who had once stood with confidence and left her to mingle with her own thoughts. Now this is what I call a fun day...

The throne room was much different than any of the other rooms that surrounded the area. The flowing curtains were still present, but there was much more of an open space, the curtains seemingly acting like walls to the room. Near the back of the room where the walls became narrow stood a large chair draped in the wall-like fabric. It would have reached the ceiling, if one could tell there was such thing in this place for all was black excluding the curtains. Placed deliberately, the curtains shielded a person's eyes from the person sitting high up on the chair. Backed in shadows, the figure loomed, waiting for her servant to come to her call.

Soon enough, Insecurity with her bright pink hair entered the room the same way she had left the other. She looked out of place in the dark, ominous room, usually much more cheerful and bright than her other companions and the mistress she followed. Insecurity attempted to hold herself as confidently as possible given her current situation. Walking slowly, yet with precision, she approached the throne waiting for the command to stop.

"That's far enough." The voice was deep, but undoubtedly female and had a distinct sense of anger to it.

Insecurity stopped in her tracks and kneeled as was custom and appropriate. Staying on one knee, she addressed the woman in the chair. "Mistress, you have called for me."

"Naturally, otherwise you would not be here." The voice paused for a few seconds as if considering how to approach the matter at hand. "Do you know why you are here, Insecurity?"

"Yes, mistress."

"Tell me."

"I have failed to dispatch the appropriate demon and thus have failed in the task given to me." Her gaze remained to the floor. Insecurity had only once looked upon the face of her mistress, but it was at a cost. She had not slept for days afterwards nor could eat. The gaze from her eyes had hit her harder than she could have imagined.

"You're wrong."

"But ho-" Insecurity stopped herself before going any further. She had to keep her mouth in check otherwise it would cost her something she preferred to keep. "I apologize mistress. May I ask then what it is I have done wrong?"

The voice did not speak again for what seemed like several minutes. "No. But you have not failed in your duties. Continue on with your task, any further orders will come from Pain. Is that clear?"

"Yes, mistress." Getting up from her kneeling position and bowing, Insecurity left the chamber; off to think about what she had done to be so fortunate.

Meanwhile, Fear was left to debate the problem at hand on her own. On normal circumstances she would have asked Pain to join her, being her eyes and ears in the ranks of her army. Yet, this instance was different, this instance was before any of her current members had joined the Organization of Despair, this was much before their time and more towards the beginning of hers.

How had that pesky brat escaped her in the first place, she wondered. That was another matter entirely. And as much as she would have liked to punish someone for what had happened, it was her fault and Fear was not about to show her army that she had a weakness of any sort. She had hoped that it would be another century or two before she was reincarnated, but her spirit was much to proud to sit around waiting for the right moment to strike.

Minor details had approached her all day, coming from Pain and her other minions, but their matters were all trivial compared to the problem of SailorStarGazer. There were plans to be made and people to deal with, immediately. For the meantime, she would keep the issue of the Star senshi to herself, addressing it when need be. And hopefully, that moment wouldn't arise.

The back alleyways of Tokyo were typically deserted during the depths of night save for the stray cats and the rodents they so gleefully hunted. However, tonight was an unusual night and one of the dark corners was preoccupied. As Sailorshootingstar approached her newfound 'leader' she noted the odd glow emanating from her feet, but then quickly realized it was a sign of weakness and looked her head on. The pale face was not what she had expected, but the dark brown eyes had a sharpness to them that suggested they had seen many a fierce battle.

Shootingstar replayed the message she had received the other day back in her mind. _"Sailorshootingstar, as leader of the Star senshi, I require your presence... it is in your best interest to attend."_ She was more intrigued by the fact that the person standing in front of her knew about the identity she had kept from the Sol senshi for over four years that the fact that this meeting was going to do her a favour.

"Sailorshootingstar." It was indefinitely a statement; no sense of a question was in the speaker's voice.

She nodded in response, but asked a question of her own. "And who would you be?"

"SailorStarGazer, but there are more pressing matters at hand." Shifting only her gaze, she continued. "Solarflare, it is unnecessary for you to remain hidden."

Instinctively tightening the grip on her staff, she turned to her right to see another senshi emerge, this one with a whip tightly wound in her right hand.

How could there be other senshi in Tokyo without her knowing? She had known about most of the Sol senshi before they knew their own hidden identities.

"Do not look so surprised Shootingstar, there are more senshi living in Tokyo than just you and the Sol." SailorStarGazer stepped further out of her corner to approach the two senshi before her. "I take it that neither of you know about each other, but I presume that at one time or another you have remembered or have been told about the Legend, have you not?" Her voice remained authoritative.

Shootingstar and Solarflare nodded in response, the latter commenting. "Then we are supposed to believe that you are our leader?" Her gaze hardened.

"If you did not believe who I was you would not be here, would you?" The two remained silent, although Solarflare's gaze lessened.

"Good. Now leave you're differences behind and remind yourselves of your duties tonight. I will inform you on what information I have gathered, but first there are some rules that we all, myself included, are to be subjected to, understand?" Not bothering to wait for a response, she continued. "All that is said and discussed here is not to be presented to the Sol senshi under any circumstances. Contact with them in human form is perfectly fine, actually I encourage it. As the other senshi gather, they will make contact with their counterparts and obtain information about them as you will. I am assuming that you already know who they are. But, keep all senshi contact with them minimal. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," replied Solarflare sarcastically, her arms now crossed and her whip lowly freely to the ground, appearing to have a life of its own.

"Then I'll start. As you may have guessed from my appearance, unlike both of you, I am not from Japan, I came overseas from Canada. My human name is irrelevant at the moment. As you may or may not have noticed, there have been erratic energy signals showing up around the city. However, these readings are not just in Tokyo, they have been appearing all around the world. These are not just energy signals though, they are minions of-"

"The Organization of Despair." Shootingstar had interrupted, sick of the growing tension in the air around her.

"Yes." Although not shown in her face, StarGazer's voice held a hint of irritation. The silence held for a few more seconds before Shootingstar spoke again.

"Wait a minute, doesn't that mean...?"

"Yes it does. And we will deal with that when the time arrives."

"So, that's why you don't want the Sol involved with us then, isn't it?" Solarflare's voice was solemn.

"That's correct."

"When will the others be arriving?"

"As soon as they possibly can. They have matters to attend to before them come though. I believe Comet is arriving within a fortnight. I will contact you then to arrange another meeting."

Solarflare posed a questionable looked. "And how are you going to manage that? I don't hand my phone number over to just anyone you know."

Shooting a dark gaze to Solarflare, StarGazer replied. "Through your henshin devices. However, I need to activate the communication systems myself. You both then need to revert to your human state."

Both Solarflare and Shootingstar took a step back, the latter voicing her opinion on the matter. "In front of both of you? I'd rather keep my identity a secret thank you very much." Grabbing her staff more defensively, she took another step backwards.

StarGazer sighed, which to Shootingstar seemed out of her character. "We will eventually know each other's identities. Besides, I already know yours, or have you forgot?"

Solarflare let down her guard and stepped forward. "If you indeed are who I think you are, doing this will cause neither of us harm." Closing her eyes, she let her whip wrap itself around her. In seconds there was a bright flash of red and gold light, leaving behind Taiyou Hinojounestu.

Seeing Solarflare revert back to her human form persuaded Shootingstar enough to do so herself. "Fine, but as long as no one else finds out." She closed her eyes and grabbed her staff at the top, just before the pitch-fork-like blade. With a flash of green light, she reverted back to her human form, Sakai Hoshii.

"Good, now give me you henshin devices." Both of them stepped forward willingly and handed over a red pen and a silver spoon. StarGazer brought them close to the double star adorned on the top of her staff. A small flash of white light appeared and disappeared in seconds. "Done. Simply press on your sign to talk. But, I'm afraid in activating the communication system we have let out a surge of energy. We should depart before the Sol or the Organization detects the energy and comes looking for us." She returned the items back to their rightful owner. "Until next time."

With a swirl of her staff, SailorStarGazer had disappeared into the night leaving behind Sakai and Taiyo to deal with themselves.


End file.
